pop culture, reviewed

While I am still somewhat dismayed and befuddled that no Idol contestant seems to share my long-held belief that a killer rendition of Sheriff’s “When I’m With You” would WIN THE COMPETITION, for the most part, I really enjoyed the men’s portion of 80’s Week last night.  Let’s review — 

I’ll admit it. I’m underwhelmed by the Academy Awards this year. I still haven’t seen The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, La Vie En Rose, Sweeney Todd, or either of Cate Blanchett’s movies, but I’ve seen everything else in the major categories (which to me are Best Picture, Best Director, and the acting and screenplay awards). Of all the nominations, I would be most excited by a Hal Holbrook win or a Tilda Swinton or Amy Ryan win in Best Supporting Actress. I will be most dismayed by a Ruby Dee win, because I’m sorry, I know she’s old and I’m happy for her and all, but she had about two minutes of dialogue in American Gangster and there is no way that was an Oscar-worthy role or performance. For real.

I guess I’m underwhelmed by the films this year because while I LIKED a lot of them, I did not LOVE a lot of them, and the ones I liked the most were mostly overlooked (those mostly overlooked ones were probably Eastern Promises, In the Valley of Elah, Once, Into the Wild, Lars and the Real Girl, Zodiac, and 3:10 to Yuma). Of the Best Picture nominees, I thought that only No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood were grand enough or important enough to be true Best Picture contenders. (And even NCFOM was almost a disappointment for me, only because it was SUCH a perfect adaptation that having read the book really meant that there was no way I could feel the film’s impact as fully as I would have otherwise.) Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance was a marvel, no question, and the more I think about There Will Be Blood the more I liked it, but I was almost equally impressed by Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah and Viggo Mortenson in Eastern Promises. Sometimes the subtle performances impress me more than the over-the-top ones — but I’m not denying how awesome DDL was (and obviously he’ll win).

Juno was precious but not Oscar-worthy in my opinion — except maybe for screenplay, which would be an appropriate way to reward the film — and I’m kind of over Ellen Page already. She’s a little too cool for school for me — I like my baby celebrities to be excited by their fame and not act so unenthusiastic. I mean, girlfriend wasn’t even excited when she was on Oprah. If you’re 20 and you’ve been famous for three minutes, at least act appreciative of your success, you know? But maybe I am biased because I am nothing if not enthusiastic. People who are that cool make me suspicious.

I thought Atonement was just okay. Parts were really nice, but I didn’t cry at the end. That means something’s wrong because I cry in dog food commercials on a regular basis. I loved Michael Clayton but still wouldn’t give it Best Picture status.

Mostly, I am excited to see my loves Glen and Marketa performing for nominated song. Now THAT will probably make me cry. Oh, and I’m excited about seeing Angelina’s baby bump. Now, must attend baby shower, make (just kidding — purchase) dessert for Oscar party (which we will only attend for the red carpet because I have to watch the actual awards in the quiet of our own home, uninterrupted), and try to watch La Vie En Rose before tonight. More afterward.

I had a really great phone conversation with a friend this afternoon and during the course of our conversation we talked about both pop culture and the upcoming election.  She and I are both Obama supporters and she asked whether I had blogged about the election at all.  I said I hadn’t, because this site really is about fluff and not real life, and the upcoming election is nothing if not real and — as we all know — very, very critical.  (Plus, I have hardly blogged about anything these days, real life or no.  Must rectify that.)  But then I got off the phone and realized that really, the primary season has captured my heart and my interest much more than anything pop-culture-related lately, and it’s not because of the writer’s strike.  It’s because it feels so good, and so important, to be watching history as it happens.  And it feels absolutely magnificent to support a candidate for whom I not only feel confident in casting a private ballot, but for whom I feel inspired — and even compelled — to proclaim my choice as loudly and publicly as possible. Go Obama!

By the time the election rolls around, Jake and I will have a three-month-old baby (and oh my goodness, if I have not told you personally that I’m expecting and you just read it on the blog, I apologize profusely and castigate myself severely).  It’s probably a little bit of pregnancy hormones, but in announcing my pregnancy over the last couple of weeks I have felt so overwhelmed by love and support from so many good friends and family members that I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.  I feel so happy for this baby that he or she will grow up in not just a loving marriage and not just with a wonderful father, but with wonderful grandparents and great-grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and old, beloved friends.  There is no doubt that no matter who is elected, this baby is going to be loved and protected (and spoiled)… but I really, really hope that it is loved and protected (and spoiled) and has Obama for its first President as well.

The news of Heath Ledger’s untimely death makes me feel physically sick and unbearably sad.   Of course one’s first thought must be for his small daughter, who will probably never remember her father.  How awful for his family and friends. 

I had just been thinking about him this morning because of the Oscar nominations.  Nothing this year or last year moved me or impressed me even a quarter as much as Heath Ledger’s Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain.  For all the accolades about Daniel Day-Lewis this year (and his was an excellent performance too, to be sure), I still can’t think of a performance in recent years that was as magnificent as Heath’s Ennis.  He could have been one of the greatest of all time.